Le Grand-Pere et Sa Petite Fille
by Buckeye2005
Summary: Senior and Tali bond while Tony works on other things. A fic after 13x24 "Family First" with flashbacks. Should be a few chapters, but set over the course of a few days. Fluffy with some plot. Now complete.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Senior and Tali fic seems to be few and far between and I wanted to read some so I wrote this. There's a couple more chapters. I hope you like it.**

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"What should we do next, huh Tali?" Senior wasn't one to get winded quickly, he had amazing stamina if he did say so himself, and he could carry on a conversation as long as possible to seal a deal or otherwise convince someone to do something they wouldn't ordinarily do. The only person who seemed immune to his charms and who could make him pause and take a few deep breaths to steady himself, was the two-year old girl wearing pink frills and rainboots standing in front of him.

One of the pink rainboots, they had daisies on them too, stomped onto the ground in pure impatience. He'd seen that look before and it was on a woman he missed terribly. "Seener."

"Grandpa, DiNozzo Junior Junior," he said. He gestured to his chest with both hands, speaking clearly for her. "Grandpa. Say it with me now. Graaaandpaaaa."

She grinned and shook her head. "No!" She took off again, screaming and running around the apartment they were renting from a friend of his. Someone he hoped would still be a friend after they were done with the place. Two-year old Tali was a force to be reckoned with and when she got her mind set on something, nothing could stand in her way. Not even furniture, he thought, righting a chair that had fallen on its side.

They were in the midst of a very raucous game of dress-up, using fancy costumes he'd found in one of the guest bedrooms. The apartment belonged to a business associate who seemed to have a penchant for fancy getups and Tali had a feather boa around her neck and a giant piece of millinery in the shape of a parrot perched on her head. He had a boa himself, which he pulled off his neck, setting it in the box of dress-up clothes for her. "Come on Tali, let's…let's have a tea party." That might get her to sit still for longer than a moment.

It worked and she clomped over to the tea party table in the corner. He'd gone out on one of their first days here with her and raided every toy story he could locate in the arondissement they'd set up home in. He wasn't sure how long they planned to be here. As long as Junior needed them to be there. He simply followed his son's direction. First to Tel Aviv, where he'd been surprised to find that his son knew his way around fairly well and his Hebrew wasn't half bad. He'd enjoyed the city. It had a vibe he liked and it seemed his son fit in well too.

While Junior did what he needed to do, he took care of Tali. They stayed with The Aunts, as Junior called them, when he'd asked where they planned to set up shop. He didn't know what that meant, but then he'd met Aunt Nettie and Aunt Yael, Ziva's aunts, who were delightful women. He could see why Ziva was as strong as she was, if she had those two teaching her. They doted on Tali and taught him some Hebrew so he could communicate with her better. Tali was still learning English and her vocabulary was heavily tilted in favor of Hebrew.

He wanted to talk with his granddaughter and have her understand him. They bonded. He took her to the beach, they went to get ice cream, and they wandered the shops. He got her a scarf so she could be like her mother, in a photo Aunt Nettie gave the little girl to keep. She let him read her stories at night and they would sit together sometimes when she needed to be still. He didn't push, didn't question Junior's decisions. He was going to be there for his son this time.

Junior was in a state. The crushed heartbreak on his son's face when Abby and McGee came to tell him Ziva had died in the fire almost brought him to his knees as well. He had never been a good father. Had never been there for his son. He vowed to be there for him now. He stayed with him that night, he made sure he came back to the house when he'd broken down in the NCIS bullpen, and he'd been in the midst of cleaning up the apartment and making Junior's favorite spaghetti dinner when the front door open and instead of Junior, he'd heard baby babbles.

 _"Junior? What's going…" He stepped out from the kitchen and stood in the doorway of the dining space and the living room, his mouth falling open at the sight of Junior muscling into the apartment a stroller with two large bags on it and holding a small girl on his hip. He pointed at him with the spoon he'd been using to stir the red sauce. "Who is that? What's going on?"_

 _"Get this Dad."_

 _He hurried forward and took the stroller, helping him get it off the step and into the apartment, pushing it in the corner. He took the bags off and set them on the floor, thoroughly confused. He turned around and watched Junior toss his keys down and get his gun off his hip, putting it into the box next to his movies. The little girl was still babbling to herself, speaking words he didn't know. "Junior," he demanded. He shook his head, gesturing towards the stroller and then towards the little girl. "Who is that?"_

 _"I have to get back to work, I needed to get her out of the fishbowl that served as NCIS. McGee and Abby and everyone were just staring at her. It was freaking her out." He set her down on the floor and pointed. "Stay." He held his hands up slightly. "Stay there."_

 _Senior frowned and turned to the bag in the stroller. He unzipped it and reached in, removing a large cardboard book in funny characters. He took out an electronic game and carried it towards the child, setting it down in front of her. "Here you go sweetheart, you play with that while I talk to…" He looked up at his son, who just looked blank, staring at the girl like he hadn't seen her before. "Not important. We need to talk."_

 _She kept babbling and looked up, smiling at him, a dimple appearing in her right cheek. He frowned, he knew that smile. He looked at her again and then at his son, who was trying his hardest to look away. Oh my God. He pointed at her, whispering. "Junior…is this…"_

 _"Dad," he said, his voice breaking slightly. He turned away and walked off to his room without another word. Senior wasn't having that and followed after him. Junior was leaning on the baseboard of his bed. He whipped around, his eyes shining again. "Ziva…she…" He laughed and scrubbed his face. "I have to get back to work, I have to keep trying to figure this stuff out…Kort's out there and…and she's gotta' be safe."_

 _"Who?" he whispered, although in his gut he knew._

 _Junior reached into the inner pocket of his suit jacket and removed a blue passport with a menorah on the front. He flicked it open and handed it to him. "Just look," he whispered._

 _He took the passport. Menorah meant Israel. Ziva. He'd said Ziva. He opened the passport, but knew what it said already. The image was of a little girl smiling wide and written on one half was the same funny characters from the book he'd just handed her. The other was English. Under First Name, it said Tali. Under the Surname…. "DiNozzo?" he whispered, lifting his head to look at his son._

 _"Evidently," Junior said, his voice thick. He swallowed hard, his throat constricting. "Ziva and I have a daughter. They dropped her off with me today. Because her mother is dead and…and she never told me." He waved his hands, laughing rather manic. "Congratulations Dad! You're a grandpa! And I'm a father and…and…I have to get out of here…" He turned to leave, but Senior stopped him, gripping his shoulders. "What are you doing? Let me go."_

 _The things going through his mind were nothing compared to his son's. A granddaughter. Ziva was her mother, his son finally did something right there, but he couldn't think of that right now because his son's emotional stability was the important thing now. "Her name is Tali?" he asked._

 _"After Ziva's sister. She was killed."_

 _"Hee!"_

 _They both spun around, looking at the doorway, where little Tali was standing, smiling at them. She ran forward and wrapped her arms around his son's legs, babbling again. Tony closed his eyes tight and then leaned down, lifting her up. "Okay Tali, I have to go to work for a little longer, but you're going to stay with Senior. He's really nice, I promise." He pushed her at him and he caught her carefully. It had been awhile since he'd held a baby or a toddler. Probably not since Junior was that age. He sighed hard. "Keep her alive, Dad. I'll be back."_

 _"But…"_

 _"I'll be back later I promise!"_

 _Well this was just something, he thought, looking over at Tali, who was smiling shyly at him. Poor little dear, he thought, setting her back on the floor. He took her hand and they walked out of the bedroom and back to the living area. "Well Tali, it's a pleasure to meet you. I knew your mother. She was a very good lady." He paused, unsure what they'd told her about her mother's passing. He thought it best to stay quiet. He walked with her into the kitchen and turned off the stove, setting the sauce aside. He'd finish dinner later. He'd been planning on going out and picking up a few more things anyway, but there's no way she'd be able to eat the spaghetti yet, she was too little. It'd be a mess._

 _He frowned slightly, unsure what to do with her. He looked down at her and she smiled back up at him. Looked just like her mother. "What do you say we watch a movie, huh Tali? Let's see what…" He trailed off, smiling slightly, his heart lifting. "Let's see what Daddy has by way of Disney." His son's movie collection was impressive and sure enough, even a grown man still had a copy of one of his favorite Disney movies. He plucked Toy Story off the shelf and carried it to the DVD player. He turned back around and smiled again at the little girl. His son and Ziva. His heart sank slightly. It was a shame they'd never be happy. He took Tali's hand and walked her to the couch. "Here we go Tali."_

 _She babbled a bit more but settled down when the movie started. She looked up at him and smiled again. He smiled back down at her, unsure what else to do. While she watched the movie, he kept thinking, about his son. Poor Tony. He had no idea what was going through his head. He reached to pat Tali's little hand. Another DiNozzo without a mother. He knew one thing though. Tali would grow up far different than his son, because even though Tony had lost the love of his life, there was no way he'd abandon her the way he'd done. Junior was far stronger than that. Tali would be okay. And…he sat up a little straighter, silently making a vow. He'd be a far better grandfather than father. He promised. To Ziva, he thought, closing his eyes briefly, before Tali started laughing at the screen, breaking him from his thoughts._

"Seener."

"Grand…" he began, but sighed. She was a DiNozzo. Stubborn through and through. He had to imagine Ziva's influence also helped, or didn't help depending on how you looked at it, in that department. "Fine. Seener."

Tali wandered through the apartment. She had a habit of searching for things. She inspected everything very carefully, a trait he wondered also carried over from Ziva. He missed her. The minute he'd seen the way his son looked at her and she looked at him, he thought they were together. To his shock they stuttered and stumbled over how that wasn't happening. He'd quizzed Junior constantly on it, only to get roadblocks. They'd figure it out eventually, he kept thinking. One day.

It was sad that that one day was too late. He got a granddaughter out of it though. "What are you looking for, sweetheart?" he asked, finding her looking out the window. It was raining, so they couldn't go outside. The minute the weather cleared he'd take her to the park. She had energy she needed to burn.

Tali pressed her nose against the glass, her soft breath fogging the pane. He sat on the window seat beside her, watching her little eyes dart around at the people a few stories beneath them. She pointed and looked at him. "Kelev!"

"Kelev is right here," he said, picking up her battered stuffed dog.

"No! Kelev!" She pointed again and he glanced out, seeing a woman walking a couple of Dalmatians in the rain. She giggled. "Kelev!"

Oh, that must mean dog in Hebrew. He was picking up some words here and there. Junior spoke it much better than he did. He wondered if Ziva taught his son. There was so much about her he didn't know, so much he wanted to ask about but knew it hurt Tony, so he kept quiet. He reached forward and brushed at Tali's curls, smiling at her. She beamed back at him and returned to her people watching. She pointed again, calling out a bird, a car, and a truck. She sat back against the window and kept watching, her little hand still pressed to the pane. "What do you see?" he asked.

"Abba."

"Abba's running an errand."

"Abba!" She pointed to the picture behind him, sitting on a dresser. "Ima!"

He reached behind him and took down a different photo from the one he'd located in the 'go bag.' It was one Junior had socked away somewhere that he'd brought out so Tali could have more images of her mother. He tapped it. "Where's Ima?"

"Ima." Tali pointed correctly to the image of her mother, standing against a beach backdrop, Junior beside her. He told him it was when they'd gone to California for work, a long time ago. He'd kept most of those photos locked away because the trip hadn't been a good one. Senior wasn't sure what happened on said trip, but it clearly upset his son. Most photos of Ziva he kept hidden. He thought it said something. The picture of him and his old partner Kate was set instantly next to the fishbowl when he came back from his last day in the office. Nothing of Ziva.

Well now he had to face facts that the little girl needed to see her mother to remember her. Maybe he'd done poorly there, immediately taking down every photo he could find of his wife after she died. This would be different. Junior wouldn't make the same mistakes he made, he was sure of it. "Where did Abba go, you think?" he wondered.

"Dunno," Tali replied, echoing a word Junior used a lot lately when he'd get questioned about what his next move was. She pointed to the Eiffel Tower, peeking out from over the rooftops. "Tow-ar."

"Good girl, that's the Eiffel Tower."

They sat in the window for several more minutes before he got up and thought about getting her a snack. She was looking antsy. He wondered where Junior had gone to…he was very secretive. When they were in Israel he didn't want to know where Junior went, just knew that he showed up one day when a guy called Adam, a rather shifty fellow, if you asked him, and said they'd be working together on some things, not to bother or ask questions. They'd gone into the study of the hotel room they were staying in and closed the door, but Senior wasn't a fool. He'd sent Tali in and when Junior had gone to close to the door after sending her out, he hadn't shut it all the way, leaving plenty of room for him to listen.

 _"You know friend this is the second time you've asked me to hunt down a former Mossad officer who doesn't want to be found."_

 _"She does want to be found, but Mossad doesn't want me to find her."_

 _"Well that should be your first clue."_

 _"They think they're protecting her but they're not."_

 _"Well then what do you expect to find, Tony?" Adam asked, reaching into the backpack he'd brought into the room with him and removed a 9mm, passing it over. He nodded to it. "That's unregistered. You get caught with it and not even Shin Bet can save you."_

 _"I don't plan on getting caught."_

 _Senior leaned a little closer. What was Junior up to? They'd gone to search for "answers." Ziva was dead, she'd died in a fire when someone targeted her house. Tali barely got out alive. He didn't know why his son had to ask questions, but he went along with him to help his granddaughter. Was this a way for Junior to cope? He thought it was okay, hearing him refer to Ziva in present tense, but now he wasn't sure any more._

 _Adam opened up a laptop. "Your friends at NCIS can't help you with this?"_

 _"I don't want them involved and I don't want them to get hurt." Junior threw down a handful of papers he'd removed from his backpack. "Orli didn't see me take these."_

 _Something was clearly wrong with this because the other man cursed in Hebrew and stopped typing on the computer. He pushed the papers away like they were tainted. "I do not want to know what those are. You stole from the Mossad Director's office?"_

 _"She wouldn't have left them out so obviously for me to take. She wants me to find out the truth as much as I do. Catch up Adam, I came for answers about Ziva you should know that means I will do anything to find them." Junior paused. "Did you know about Tali?"_

 _Senior leaned a little closer. The look in Adam's face when he saw Tali had been like seeing a ghost and Tali seemed to recognize him. He wondered himself what the other man's relation was to Ziva. Adam shook his head, his voice quiet. "I didn't know for awhile. I knew she came back, but I wasn't going to go looking for her, not after everything that had happened. I saw her a few months later when she was pregnant. Only thing she told me was to not ask questions and leave her alone." He chuckled. "I didn't leave her alone, because I mistakenly thought she needed someone with her. She broke my hand for my troubles." He pointed to Tony. "You are the only one who ignores Ziva's wishes and lives to tell the tale unscathed. After that I left her alone. Orli had me check on her from time to time but no longer than a few minutes. I saw Tali when she was about a year old, maybe. She looked like you."_

 _"Did Ziva tell you about me?"_

 _"She didn't have to, Tony. It was obvious."_

 _Senior leaned a little closer. He smiled sadly at the look on Tony's face. Tony took a deep breath. "What was she like?"_

 _Adam didn't say anything for a second, just reached for his phone, scrolling through for a few moments and then passed it up to him. "She was so angry I took that. She was a cute pregnant woman. She ran every day until the end, I guess. Send it to your phone, you can have it." Tony tapped on the phone for a second and then set it back down. He picked up his phone and looked at it, smiling for a sad moment and then glanced at the computer._

 _"Thanks."_

 _Without another word on the matter, Adam finished typing away at his computer and turned it around, his voice quiet. "Now show me what you stole from Orli. I figure before she kills me, Ziva probably will."_

 _"You believe she's still alive then?"_

 _"Ziva David changed when she became a mother, but it was in a far different way." Adam stopped speaking and then glanced at the computer again, his voice dropping to a murmur. "I see you confirmed that she got Tali to Orli long before the attack on the farmhouse."_

 _Senior drew back. What? He thought they'd found Tali in the rubble? He leaned a little closer. Junior glanced to the door and he pulled back, wondering if he'd been caught, but his son's voice continued like nothing had interrupted him. "Orli's hints were enough there. She slipped a few times. Probably on purpose, but whatever, she slipped. Present tense, never really said she was dead, that sort of a thing. What do you Israelis say when someone dies, even to small children?"_

 _Adam shrugged. "We tell them the person died, why?"_

 _"Orli said she told Tali that her mother went away."_

 _"That could mean dead, Tony."_

 _"Not the way Orli sounded. She cares too much about Ziva, it's her one weakness."_

 _"And you know this…."_

 _"Because I do, it's my job…" Tony trailed off and picked up the papers, flicking through them and mumbling. "It used to be my job. Doesn't matter. These are bank accounts for Eli David in Switzerland, Italy, and a few of them are in France. Can we check the withdrawals against diamond transactions worldwide?"_

 _"You think she'd be that obvious?"_

 _"She'd be obvious with me. I also want to know how Orli found out first. We didn't even know Kort was behind this, but Mossad did? Where is Farsoon? There are too many things going on right now."_

 _Adam didn't look up from typing on the computer, obviously setting about searching the diamond transactions. He shrugged. "When we find Farsoon, are you going to kill him?"_

 _Senior drew away slightly. He wasn't sure he wanted to hear Junior's response. Plausible deniability. But he couldn't bring himself to tear away. He glanced back into the room, where Tony had begun to pin things to a piece of poster board with a large map on it. Tony didn't say anything for a few minutes. Maybe he wouldn't even tell this Adam character. Until he heard his son's voice, deadly soft. "No." He chuckled, which seemed to make the whole conversation more unsettling. He'd never heard his son speak like this before. Look like this. He expected to see pain or anger at this Farsoon character. Instead, Tony's face was calm and steady. He kept working. "I'm not going to kill him just yet. I'm going to make him suffer."_

 _Oh son, he thought, finally tearing himself away from listening to the conversation. Don't let your grief take you to a place you can't escape. Believe me. He didn't say anything and walked away, returning to Tali, who in his absence had decided to get their attention by coloring in marker all over the hotel floor._


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews I really like feedback. If you don't like it though, don't read it. This might not go the way people think. I hope you do like it though.**

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Tony had been different since he came home with Tali. He'd been his loveable self with her, but there was a determination in his eyes that Senior didn't recognize. Maybe it was just a reminder that he didn't always know his son that well, from so much time apart, but he also thought it was the loss of Ziva that had truly broken him and focused him at the same time. It unnerved him though. Revenge shouldn't be Tony's sole priority. It would destroy him. He had to be there for Tali. Tali should be his sole priority.

Tony had left that morning saying he was running errands. That had been his standard comment when he wanted time alone. He didn't know where he went or what he did and he didn't want to know. So long as he came home safe and intact. Tony wouldn't let anything happen to Tali. He wouldn't do anything that could get her hurt. All Senior hoped for was that his son would also keep in mind that his daughter had one living parent. He wasn't going to be raising his granddaughter because her father had gone off and done something stupid. "Food," Tali announced, growing bored with her people-watching. She tapped on the glass and blew her lips against it, forming a fog cloud, which she then began to draw on.

He pushed up from the picture seat and went into the kitchen. "How long do you think we're going to stay here Tali? Grandpa is going to have to make some improvements." He got the impression they weren't leaving until their party was four, but he didn't say so to his son. Just in case.

Tali hopped off the picture seat and followed after him, her rainboots loudly clomping on the floor. She shrugged and pulled at a chair, which he hurried around to help her with. The look he got said she didn't need help. It was Ziva's scowl. He missed it. "Mine."

"Okay then, just thought I'd offer," he laughed. He studied her expression, grinning. "You look like your mother." Tali cocked her head, a little curl falling in her eyes. He brushed it from her face. "Your Ima."

Her hazel eyes lit up happily. "Ima!"

He smiled again. "Yeah. I knew your Ima." She blinked and then pointed to the picture silently. He nodded. "Very good."

Tali began to chatter. She was saying something about princesses. He allowed himself a brief moment to think about her mother. Must be a day for memories. Rain had a way of doing that to a person. Made you think. Ziva had been the only woman he'd met who had a personal relationship with his son. He didn't know if he'd feel any different of anyone else, which was moot since he'd never had the chance, but he loved her. She was feisty and independent and kind and beautiful. Tony needed a challenge and she was certainly that. The fact she didn't fall for the DiNozzo charms and tricks were why he loved her. He only hoped the short influence she'd had on Tali stuck and his granddaughter displayed the same ability to take care of herself that her mother had. He tweaked Tali's nose, bringing himself from his thoughts. "What do you want Tali?"

"Food."

"Yeah I got that, but what kind?" He walked to the fridge and opened it. It was so tiny, he'd forgotten European appliances and their general lack of space in everything. All it contained was some leftovers and juiceboxes. They didn't even have milk. "Well I can't feed you wine and cheese, so I guess we'll have to go out." Thankfully the rain was letting up and there was a café they'd been frequenting just a short block away. They wouldn't even need her stroller. "Let's get your raincoat on and get your umbrella."

Tali squealed, jumping up and running for her favorite outfit. The raincoat and umbrella matched her pink daisy boots and she excitedly jumped around the door while he helped her with them. "Mine, mine, mine," she chattered, like those birds in that fish movie he'd watched with her the other day.

"I know, they're yours."

"Where Abba?"

"Abba's working." He glanced at his watch. Tony had been away most of the day. He didn't know how long he'd be, but usually his errands didn't take long. He turned and scrawled a note letting him know where they'd gone, just in case he came back while they were out. Maybe they'd go to the bookstore that was beside the café, get Tali some more things. Tony told him not to spoil her, but what was a grandfather supposed to do?

Tali held up her umbrella. "Mary Poppins," she said clearly.

"Yes, one we get outside, but if we float into the air, remember, only laughing will keep us there." He'd become quite the connoisseur of children's movies of late. He drew the door closed behind them and took her hand, walking with her down the stairs and out to the street.

They found the café with little trouble, safe for Tali having to jump in every rain puddle she came across, but that's what her boots and plastic coat and umbrella were for. He settled her in the corner with a glass of juice and ordered her a croissant to keep her hands busy while they waited on their food. He scanned the café, seeing if there was anyone he knew. You met the strangest people in the strangest places sometimes. "Tali have I ever told you about how I became friends with a Saudi prince?" he asked.

"No."

"Well let me tell you, it was some of my finest business dealings."

"Bizniz?" she repeated. She tore at her croissant.

"Yes, business. You will be a fine businesswoman one day, I have no doubt about it. With your mother's looks and well, the DiNozzo charm, you'll be set. Plus you probably have my brains, I think they may have skipped your father."

She grinned. Then keyed back on something he'd said. "Prince!" She sighed. "Prince Pheep." He translated. Prince Philip. The prince from _Sleeping Beauty_ , her favorite one.

He was about to explain about the Saudi Prince when he looked up, a funny feeling on the back of his neck. He glanced to the door and frowned. A man entered, looking remarkably like the Adam fellow from Israel. He moved closer to Tali. He wasn't sure about him. He looked over to who Adam was sitting beside and his mouth fell slightly. "What the hell?" he mumbled. He moved so Tali was out of view. He didn't want her to make a scene.

It was Tony. Wearing a baseball hat and generally looking incognito. He should know better, Senior thought, annoyed. His entire demeanor clearly stuck him out like an American. Didn't he teach his son nothing about the culture?

They conversed quickly and then stood up, leaving. He glanced instantly at his son's hip and ankle. There were two distinct outlines in both locations. He was carrying. Why was Tony carrying weapons like he was a cop again? Why didn't he share anything with them? He shook his head and looked to Tali, touching his hand to her soft hair. He smiled. She was safe right now, that's what mattered. His son knew better than to bring the danger to her. "You mad, Seener?" Tali asked, breaking into his thoughts.

Mad? "No sweetheart, Senior's not mad. Just curious. We'll pretend for now it's not our business and carry on with our conversation."

So they did and he did his best to not think of his son's activities. They left Israel a couple of months ago. It seemed fine. Paris was the next stop on the agenda, since _"Ziva loves Paris",_ Tony explained. Present tense again. It wasn't too much for him. He referred to his dear Elizabeth in present tense for almost a year before he slipped and used past. That had been when he'd sent Tony to boarding school for the first time, out of state. At least he'd been close by the previous few months.

They'd left Israel after Tony had said " _I found the answers I needed."_ He didn't think much of the various meetings and conversations he'd had with Adam, who he'd learned was just _"a friend of Ziva's."_ Friend, hmpf, he thought with a huff. Adam seemed more than just a 'friend' in his opinion. Tony shouldn't trust him, but that was probably his father side talking.

* * *

 _"You were gone a long time."_

 _"I told you it might take a bit Dad." Tony came out of his room. They'd transitioned from the first month in a hotel on the Med, in downtown Tel Aviv, which Senior had not been so ignorant to notice was very close to the US Embassy. They were now staying in a large home on the beach, in Haifa._

 _When they'd pulled their rental SUV up in front of the large compound, Senior had wondered who his son had managed to charm into giving it to them. He'd been stunned when Tony had punched the code into the box at the gate and said it was the 'David Family Homestead.' "Like Little House on the Desert Prairie," Junior snarked, stopping in front of the large stone house, with stunning views of the water. It was surrounded by trees, which he commented was nice, given that he always thought Israel was 100% desert. "It's a tactical advantage," his son said._

 _He didn't know much of Ziva's life, but from what he'd gleaned with visits from the Aunts and what Tony had let slip, she hadn't had the easiest of relationships with her family. It sounded like her father was a bit of a trial. Nettie and Yael had both commented their younger brother was very driven in his devotion to Israel and that it outweighed his devotion to his family on many occasions. "Or they became one and the same," Nettie had commented ominously on the last visit when he'd pressed further for information on his granddaughter's other grandfather. It seemed like 'tactical advantage' was something Eli David would consider when purchasing property._

 _They'd gone inside and he'd been surprised to see it was still kept up. "Ziva's uncle, I haven't met him, he lives in the north, near Kinneret. His name is Dov. Means 'bear' in Hebrew. Seems about right for a David. We'll see him at some point, I guess she took Tali there to look at his horses."_

 _"He has horses?"_

 _"Yeah, he raises Arabians."_

 _"Well then we should ask him…"_

 _"Dad." Tony held up his finger, warning. "Tali is not getting a pony."_

 _"Well why the hell not son? She deserves a pony."_

 _"No, she doesn't need a pony." Tali unfortunately heard this part of the conversation and burst into tears at the idea that she couldn't have a pony. She also had been very stressed when they'd gotten to the house._

 _"What do you think is wrong?" he wondered. "I mean, she was fine. You think she's sick?"_

 _Tony opened the door to a bedroom and cursed in Hebrew. He gestured towards it and then took Tali away. She'd burst into tears and hadn't stopped crying. When he looked into the room, he found a very carefully decorated and cared for nursery, with pictures of Ziva and Tali, as well as a full dresser of baby clothes that she'd long outgrew. It was hard to tell when they last visited, but Tali clearly remembered. She'd spent the rest of the first week sobbing for her mother and rejecting them both._

 _When that happened, he stayed quiet. He'd tried once, to make it better, but Tony had yelled at him to knock it off, leave him alone, and let him deal. So he listened. Anything to make this better. When Tali cried for her mother, Senior knew that inside, Tony was crying for her as well. It took about two weeks before she started to calm and then before he knew it, she was better than she'd ever been. It was her home, she was home, and she knew it._

 _Today though, they'd been there almost another month. He knew something had been strange when Tony had Adam take their passports, only to show up a few days later with visas for 90 days. Tali, as a natural born citizen of Israel, could have stayed there as long as she pleased, but unfortunately needed someone to care for her. They weren't in any hurry to go just yet. "We can't stay in Israel forever," he said._

 _"Yes we can," Tony said. "I've got connections."_

 _One of these days those connections might dry up. Trust me, I know. "Just so long as we don't end up in an Israeli prison," he said. "I am too old for that." He paused. Tony had been reading a bunch of things, using a Hebrew dictionary to break some sort of code. Tali was singing a Hebrew song beside him. He glanced at her. "Tali, that's enough."_

 _"Nope, she has to keep singing it," Tony said._

 _"The song? It's about a goat, Tony."_

 _"The Little Goat, I need her to keep singing, it's helping."_

 _"Helping with what?"_

 _"Answers," was all his son had said before asking Tali to keep singing._

 _They also took their time exploring in between his son's mysterious visits with Adam and a rather intense woman he learned was Orli. He shook hands with her and then made himself scarce. He'd never seen a more determined and analyzing look than the one Orli Elbaz gave him when they first met. "Who was that?" he'd asked Tony later on that evening. "Oh, the Director of Mossad," Tony said nonchalantly, while feeding Tali a bit of pita bread with hummus. Senior had almost choked. One of the only times he'd been put off by someone else._

 _Tony had taken Tali to visit with her Uncle Dov in the north, where he let her ride around on a pony and she got to play with goats, chicken, and sheep. She'd gone for a swim in the Sea of Galilee and they took her to the Jordan River. They visited Jerusalem, where he knew Tony was up to something, hunting around a patch of wall in a street until he found something he was looking for, discreetly tucking a small piece of paper he'd plucked from a crevice in the wall back into his pocket. He'd caught Tony looking at it later that day, annoyed at whatever the message held._

 _Today he'd announced they were leaving Israel. It had been over four months since they landed. Tony had gone from one end of the country to the next and it wasn't a large country. His son had kept things hidden from him, which he didn't appreciate. He didn't question it. A few times Tony had blurted out what he'd done. "I went to the burnt out house," he'd said once. Senior hadn't been sure what to do with that. Another time Tony was sitting on the floor with Tali and then said suddenly "Ziva used to twist her earlobe like that when she was thinking too." A few times he left them alone. They did their father-daughter thing and he relaxed on the beach, a nice break from being the doting grandfather._

 _He kept thinking of what Tony had said though, to Adam on one of those first few days. He was going to kill someone named Farsoon. He hadn't mentioned it to Tony. He wondered if his son did what he said he'd do. He kept putting it out of his mind. He didn't want to know. Today he was packing up some photos of Ziva he'd located around the house. The Aunts said he could take whatever he wanted for Tali to remember her mother. It was Ziva's house, they said. She was Eli's daughter, the next in line to get it. Now it was Tali's._

 _"I found the answers I needed and now we're going to Paris," Tony said. He dropped a few sheets of paper on the table. Senior glanced at them. Plane tickets. "In two days."_

 _"A bit short notice, you could have warned me."_

 _"I got what I came here for."_

 _"Answers?" he'd echoed. Vengeance?_

 _Darkness crossed his son's face. Then he'd smiled, like nothing was the matter. "Of course Dad. I got answers."_

 _"Those answers happen to have a black eye and cut lip?"_

 _"What?"_

 _"Your knuckles." Senior nodded to Junior's knuckles, which were red and swollen. He shrugged, his voice soft. "Been fighting, son? You want to talk about anything?"_

 _"Nope, I got it." Then he'd disappeared, off to play in the garden with Tali, laughing like nothing was the matter. Senior hadn't questioned it. His son had his things to do, he needed to process Ziva's death in a way that helped him, and so far it hadn't affected his relationship with Tali. So he'd gone about keeping his mouth closed. Paris then. Paris was a good city. He wondered what his son thought he'd find in the City of Lights._

* * *

"There's a good girl." Senior set Tali back on the ground after lifting her up to pass her chosen book over to the clerk at the counter. He reached into his pocket and removed some Euros to cover the cost of the set of _Where's Spot?_ books she'd picked out. He'd had to convince her the English version he'd located would do, even if she insisted on the French ones. Abba would have to read her the French, since his son's language skills seemed to have markedly improved from when Grandpa DiNozzo tried teaching him Italian when he was two.

Tali took her bag, with her new books in it and insisted on carrying it with her umbrella. She drew her raincoat hood over her head even though it was no longer raining and held her umbrella aloft. "I Paddington," she said.

"You are like Paddington Bear," he said. He chuckled and took her hand. "My lady."

"My Seener." She laughed and then began to skip while he marveled at her. He was constantly surprised at how much she grew and absorbed. They'd only watched Paddington the other day and yet she was remembering. "Want Abba," Tali said, jumping into a mud puddle. Each splash grew angrier, more force exerted in her jumps to get more water over herself and any other passersby. She scowled up at him. "Want Abba now."

Damn. A tantrum. They didn't happen often, but when they did…he shuddered. "Not now, Tali. I don't even know where Abba is. He's been very secretive."

"Finding Ima."

He glanced down at his granddaughter. She had been a bit of a copycat of late. Testing words she heard. He shook his head. "What did you say? Where's Abba, Tali?"

"Finding Ima," she repeated, more stress on the words. She got annoyed when people didn't understand her. It was difficult. She combined Hebrew and French and English most days into an unrecognizable language known only to her. She jumped again into a puddle. "Abba love Ima."

"Yes, Abba loves Ima very much, but Ima's gone."

"Nuh-uh." Tali's stubbornness on Ziva's 'aliveness' seemed to only be compounded by her father's inability to believe in her mother's death. She was adamant. The tiny brow furrowed, daring him to disagree with her. "Ima!"

She was a little over two-years old. There was no way she had any understanding of what Tony may have told her. Senior shrugged it off. Whatever his son was up to, he was doing it himself. He kept walking and nodded to the apartment. "Do you want to go back upstairs?"

"Rides."

"The carousel? Well alright then." He took her by the hand when they crossed the street, going to one of the many carousels scattered throughout the city. The one they went to often was in a tiny park by the apartment. He helped her up into it when they got there and held on to her as she gripped the horse, her eyes dancing with happiness. "You're such a big girl," he congratulated her.

"Look me," she cheered. When she smiled, beaming at him, he saw Ziva's grin. He smiled sadly, an ache in the hollow of his gut. He missed that woman. He kissed Tali's forehead for good measure. Wherever Tali was, Ziva would be also. That was how the world should work. He didn't usually believe in those things, but for his granddaughter he would.

They finished with the carousel after several rides. Tali grew bored and walked the length of the park, but yawning and her dragging rainboots were clues she was ready for a nap. He carried her back to the apartment. Tony hadn't texted him at all and he hadn't seen him anywhere after watching him sneak out of the café with Adam. He contemplated making a phone call to Gibbs, but that man did not like him and Senior didn't want to get Gibbs involved with anything that Junior might be involved with. They may need a character witness with no knowledge of the crime.

"Your Abba is going to have to explain himself," he told Tali, who was mumbling something about her Kelev stuffed animal. They'd forgotten it inside. He hoped he could get it to her before she woke up without it. There was usually hell to pay when that happened. "All this time being gone, hanging out with that shifty Israeli…the only shifty Israeli he should be with is my Ziva."

"Ima," Tali mumbled into his chest.

"Yes, your Ima." He pushed open the apartment door, throwing the keys aside and carried her into her room. It was odd, but Tony's bedroom door was shut. He usually never shut it, since Tali had a habit of sneaking out of her toddler bed, neither of them knew how she did it, and into his in the middle of the night. He helped Tali up and into her bed, removing her rainboots and coat. She crawled straight under her covers and held Kelev up, asking for kisses in Hebrew. He obliged and gave her one too. "Sleep tight." He tapped her nose and smiled, leaving her to her nap. Grabbing the baby monitor on the way out, he gave his son's room one last look before shaking his head and going into the living room.

He set the monitor down and picked up the bag of books Tali dropped in the entry way. As he straightened up, the door opened, Tony stepping in, holding a few bags. "Where have you been?" he demanded.

"I'm not a kid, you don't get to ask me those things Dad." Tony had a deer-in-the-headlights expression. He glanced to his closed door, voice soft. "Tali here?"

"Well where else would she be?"

"She sleeping?" He dropped the bags by his bedroom door and gave it another look before he turned away, going into the kitchen. "I'm sorry I didn't get to put her down for her nap Dad, thanks for that." He opened a bottle of aspirin and took a swig from a sippy cup of juice sitting on the counter. He threw the bottle aside, leaning against the counter. He crossed his arms over his chest. "You saw me with Adam a few hours ago."

It was a statement. "Yes, I'm not going to ask you why you are carrying guns in a city not known for its hospitality to guns." Senior scowled at him. "What are you involved with? I thought we left Mossad back in Israel."

"Adam's Shin Bet, not Mossad."

"Well forgive me son, I thought we left all forms of Israeli spies, security, and intelligence services back in their home country. Unless you're looking for a new job?"

"Adam came to help me with something."

"Do you want to explain what you've been up to?" Senior had had it. He was done with the secrets. It had been months. He let his son wander around the world, but they had to start thinking seriously now. They needed to get back to D.C. Unless his son wanted to become a French or Israeli citizen. At least he had homes in Israel he could use. "Because I've been curious, especially since I heard you say you were going to kill someone."

"Farsoon was the terrorist who was paid $30,000 to blow my daughter's mother away," Tony snapped.

Senior drew back. He saw the pain etched into his son's face. His shoulders sagged. "Son, I know…it's hard, but you can't let that destroy you. Don't let it, believe me."

Anything he said went over his son's head. "Farsoon was paid to do it, but he didn't." Tony paused and shrugged, whispering. "There was something in the house that this guy Kort wanted destroyed. It would…call him out for selling secrets. Another guy needed it. End of the day, it was everyone who was laughing. Turns out the files that everyone wanted or wanted gone were already gone. Ironic."

He frowned. "What happened?" He'd never asked about the circumstances surrounding Tali's arrival in their lives. It was a blessing, he'd taken it as something good that couldn't go away, something which didn't happen to the DiNozzo Family all that often.

"Ziva gave them to Mossad. Whatever Mossad did with them…who the hell knows. Anyways…I was working with Adam and Orli to make sure the world knew the files were non-existent. They burned in a fire with a woman who might also know what they contained. This was just one case of one guy wanting one thing, but…they saw a bigger opportunity as Mossad so often does." He fiddled with the sippy cup of juice and took another sip, frowning at it. "This isn't bad. What is this? Combo of apple and grape?"

"We were playing mixologists this morning."

"Like _Cocktail_? Not my favorite Tom Cruise movie, but still one of the better ones before he went all Scientologist…"

"Tony!" he exclaimed. Now he was the one who needed answers. This wasn't helping. "Just get to the point."

Tony shrugged. "What point? Point is, Ziva got Tali out of the house before someone went after it. She needed to die. They had to think the only person who knew what was in her father's files was also dead. Two for one. Get rid of the files, but get rid of the person. Thing is, when I enlisted Adam to help me find Farsoon, we found him…but he was already dead." He lifted his head, eyes meeting. He chuckled. "It was pretty brutal, I'll spare you the details, but I know a ninja's kill when I see one."

Wait…what? "Ziva?" he whispered. He had heard his son make comments about her, but…he'd never considered the possibility that she'd actually killed anyone unless it was self-defense. Like Junior. It had to be self-defense. He straightened up. "Well she was probably threatened."

"Well she made sure he was silenced, that's for sure." Tony blew out another hard breath. "Anyways, best we can figure, and by 'we' I mean the Israeli brain trust of Adam, Orli, and Schmiel, is that he thought he'd do what he was paid to do, but while he was at it, he'd double-cross his boss and get some of the stuff for himself, but I'm thinking my little ninja mommy didn't like that. Especially if the baby ninja was also in the house."

Well that explained it. If Tali was threatened, of course she'd kill. He nodded. "Okay."

Tony shook the juice and took another sip. He shrugged again, sighing. He glanced away. "Point is, at the end of the day, she got Tali to me and she disappeared. She just didn't tell Mossad what she was doing and they don't like that. The world believes she's dead. We needed to confirm that. I also needed to make sure the world didn't realize there was a baby. Orli and Adam helped me there, along with putting out the word that any rumors to the contrary were false." Tony walked out of the kitchen and pulled his phone and keys from his pocket, setting them down on the desk by the door, his voice soft so he didn't wake Tali. "I found answers, like I said. I also had to start looking. She had to stay dead, so she couldn't be obvious, and draw attention to us. There'd be attention on me. We tracked her here, but the trail went cold."

"And earlier, with the guns?"

"Well there were a few people who followed us Dad. Don't ask questions if you don't want to know the answers."

"Is that why you got in that fight too?"

"What fight?"

"In Israel, before we left, your knuckles were bruised like you'd been fighting." He formed a fist. "You never punch the way you should."

Tony scowled. "It's not like you taught me Dad, but yes I got in a fight but it wasn't anything. I hit Adam a few times. It was fun, he got in a few good hits too."

"Why? I thought you were friends."

"We're not friends, not really." Tony shrugged and then frowned. "I'm not sure why we started fighting to be honest. Seemed like the right thing to do at the time. I think he said something about Ziva that annoyed me so I hit him. Then he hit me because I think I said something about his mother and I'm not entirely sure. We were a bit drunk too, it had been a hard day, but anyway, so that's that…" He waited a second. Then his voice dropped. He sounded like a scared little boy again. "Do you want to see something?"

Senior wasn't sure he wanted to see or know anything further at this point. He didn't know half of what his son did. He'd heard the basics from him on Ziva's role in spy intrigue and he figured enough from their brief experience undercover, but he didn't want to think of anything further about her being alive. He hadn't heard his son say once they'd confirmed she was alive and he didn't think it was possible anyway. The world didn't work like that. Tali's mother didn't up and leave her. If she was trying to get back, she would…unless… he looked up. "She couldn't get to Tali."

"She couldn't talk to Orli or Adam or reach out, it was too dangerous if someone was watching."

"So…how are you supposed to look for her?"

"Clues. Ziva's a master at the Hansel and Gretel impersonation." At his obviously blank expression, Tony shrugged. "Breadcrumbs Dad. A diamond transaction here, a diamond transaction there. An alias here, an alias there, that sort of thing. It just took time."

"So now what?" he demanded. He shrugged. "What do you want to show me?"

In silence, Tony walked over to his bedroom door and pushed it open gently, the hinge creaking ominously. He leaned back against it, his hand still on the door handle and gestured.

Senior wasn't sure he wanted to see what was behind the door. His heart thudding, he pushed down his hopes and slowly turned to look into the room. Tony had the room with the least bit of light, the peeking sun coming in through a thin sliver of a window with metal grating. There was a single bed in the corner. It looked like a monk's room. Lying on the bed however, was a fast asleep, clearly exhausted, and worn down version of Ziva David.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thank you very much for the feedback, I do appreciate it. I hope you like this chapter. There is one left, an epilogue. I did not want it to be a long fic.**

* * *

He wasn't sure what kept him from killing his son in that moment or running to wake up the sleeping woman who he thought had been dead for the last six months, but he managed to get out of the room with Junior pushing him to stop talking. They didn't want to wake up either of the two David women. There would be hell to pay, Junior said, on both fronts.

To be honest he didn't want to know the details. Junior told him it was a long story, but there she was in the apartment like nothing was the matter. She was injured, she was exhausted, and she'd been on the run trying not to leave a footprint of her whereabouts behind. She didn't know what was going on and who to trust or contact, so it had taken time. All they knew was that she was in Paris, he knew her alias, and it had taken a bit to locate her. He'd needed to use the Israelis to help. Now they would take point in making sure no one could find her again.

"She needs rest," he said. That was obvious.

Senior scrubbed his face. "What about Tali?"

"She won't understand. We'll wait until later and when she wakes up…" Tony trailed off.

Senior frowned at his son. How was he not more excited by this? "Junior, the love of your life is alive and sleeping in your room right now. How can you be this calm? I saw you when we thought she died. I was worried for you."

"I never believed she was dead," he said, quiet. He looked at his hands. "I did. Then Tali came into the world and…and I didn't anymore. Couldn't. I had to stay sane for her and that's how I stayed sane. Now it doesn't matter because she's alive."

"Where do you go from here?"

That stumped his son. He usually had an answer for everything but now he was silent. He finally got up from where he'd been sitting in the picture window. "I don't know Dad. I guess we'll figure it out later. Right now…" he sighed and looked at the closed bedroom door. "I need to be with her. When she wakes up. She's…she's still shaken. Not having her daughter the past few months or knowing what happened to her…it hasn't been good."

No I can't imagine. He looked up at the sound of a door opening. His heart thudded waiting to see who it was. It wasn't Tali who came around the corner. Ziva stood in the doorway, her cargo pants and t-shirt hanging off of her thin frame. It looked like she hadn't eaten in months. There was a sling around her arm and her hair was chopped short at her shoulders. When she stepped towards him she had a limp. My dear girl what happened to you, he wondered, but said nothing, holding his arms out for her. "Ziva," he said, laughing when she let out a sob and hurried towards him.

"Hi," she cried, her free arm wrapped around his neck. She buried her face into his chest. "You came with Tony."

"Well of course I did." He pulled back and wiped her tears from her face. "Someone needed to help him with Tali." There. He said it. Recognition dawned in her eyes. A sound that was a half-scream and half-sob came from her lips and she flew to the back room of the apartment. There was another sound similar to it a second later. He turned around and looked at Junior, who was staring into space. "Go," he ordered. He grabbed the keys to the apartment and his jacket. "I'll take a walk."

Tony's head lifted up, his eyes widening at the loud, happy cry of "Ima!" from Tali's bedroom. He seemed in awe. Senior had only see that same look on his face when Tali had first called him "Abba." "Ima," he whispered, echoing Tali's words.

"Go," Senior ordered, turning and pushing Tony towards the room. "You need to be there."

"Yeah…" His son nodded and then lifted his head, whispering. "Dad…" He frowned. "It's done. She's here."

You can now be a family. He pulled Junior into a tight hug. "Go," he said again. "Be with them."

On cue, Tali began to shout from her room. "Abba! Abba!" She ran out, her hand clutched in her mother's, babbling furiously in Hebrew, pointing to all of them in turn. She then began to cry, the emotion of the moment too much for her little self to handle. Fat elephant tears trailed down her face and she tried to hold onto all of them at once. She finally settled for her mother, whom he knew she missed so much. It was probably so confusing for her. Ima gone for so long, little memories of her cropping up here and there maybe even forgetting her completely, and then ultimately having her beloved mother returned.

Then there was her dad. He glanced at his son, who just hand his hand on the small of Tali's back, trying to calm her down and guide her attention to Kelev. All she did was grab her stuffed dog and clutch him against her chest, still crying and alternating between Hebrew and English. He stepped away from the little family and slid carefully out the front door. As much as he wanted to see Ziva and comfort her, because he knew she'd need a fatherly influence from here on out, the little family needed time to adjust.

He went on a walk around the city. Ran into an old friend at one of his favorite bars. You never knew who you might meet. He was headed back when he saw a familiar woman standing at the corner, beside a black tinted SUV. "Ms. Elbaz," he said, tipping his hat in her direction. He made sure not to give away his hand by tilting his gaze to the apartment building in the distance. He still didn't trust her. "Good to see you again."

"Hello Mr. DiNozzo." Orli smiled. It was rather warm, but he got the feeling she knew exactly which emotions to display and when, depending on the advantage they gave her. Like a natural-born conman. Con-woman in this case. She offered her hand. "Nice to see you as well."

"What brings you to this little hamlet off the beaten path?" There was no way she accidentally found herself here.

Orli smiled again, but unlike her first one this did not meet her eyes, which gave away her hand as she nodded towards the apartment building. "I heard that there was a ghost seen in Paris today."

His back stiffened. He was defensive of his family. He slid into the old DiNozzo charm, even if he didn't think it would work on this broad. "Well Ms. Elbaz I don't know what to say about that. Ghosts don't really exist outside of stories. Perhaps you just heard a story."

She smiled again, her voice soft. "I am not the enemy here, Mr. DiNozzo. I want Ziva to be safe and happy, believe me. My hands were tied with certain…situations that occurred these last few months." She smirked. "Your son does not listen. Doesn't give up. An admirable quality to have."

"He's a wildcard." Maybe that quality came about because his son had an…active imagination, he liked to think of it. He'd had to make his own entertainment, ignore the reality in front of him to survive, and it had resolved itself into his son's tendency to find him in trouble. And also to never give up, even when everyone else said he was down and out. He shook his head slightly. "Can't say I didn't tell him as a boy to knock off with pursuing fantasies. Although sometimes they can turn into reality."

"I imagine that they can," Orli said. She nodded towards the apartment building. "I will do everything in my power to keep her safe. No one outside of me knows."

"You should talk to my son about this."

"I don't want to intrude any more than I already have." Orli lifted her sunglasses back on to her nose, effectively ending the conversation. "We've done our part and will continue to keep a watch. I just want Ziva to be safe and to be happy with her family. Surely you can believe that, Mr. DiNozzo."

There was a definitely protective air from Orli, he'd recognized it when they met. She had obligations to her agency and her country, but personal ones to Ziva too. He nodded, understanding. "Yes."

"I don't have children, Mr. DiNozzo. I had an agency and a country to protect. Ziva no longer has those worries." She moved away from him to the SUV, opening the back door and moving to get inside. She lowered the sunglasses briefing, flashing a quick smile. "I trust you will ensure she is…cared for the way she needs to be. Her father was a very…difficult man."

The message came across loud and clear. "She's going to be fine," he assured her. He didn't say anything further, watching her climb into the SUV. He waited until it was long gone, wondering what to make of that woman. She was definitely intriguing and he would never admit it but he was a little afraid of her. He got it though. Ziva still needed that parental influence. He was all too happy to provide it. She deserved it and he loved her like the daughter he didn't have.

He went back to the apartment and opened the door slowly. "Junior?" he called out. He closed the door behind him. It had been several hours now. He peeked into Tali's room and couldn't find her. Maybe they went out. He walked back down the hall and glanced into Tony's room. He smiled, opening the door a little further. The three of them were fast asleep, tangled up on the small bed in the corner. Tali was sprawled between them both, Kelev pushed into Tony's face. There was a loud snoring, which he was surprised to see was coming from ZIva. He walked in and picked up a blanket from the bottom of the bed, draping it over them all. He turned away and closed the door, going into the kitchen to start dinner.

A couple hours later, Tali came out of the room first, dragging her dog behind her. "Ima and Abba are seeping," she said.

"They're sleeping? Well let's let them sleep some more. Here." He sat her down in her booster seat at the table. He set her plate down in front of her. "Mac and Cheese, your favorite."

Tali poked her fork in it and then set it down, using her fingers instead. She was two and a half after all. She dropped a few pieces in her mouth and then looked over at him, whispering. "Ima sad."

He leaned in and kissed her forehead. "Trust me Tali Bear, your Ima is not sad." He glanced over his shoulder at the closed bedroom door, turning to smile wide at his granddaughter, who was far too young to understand the complexities of the world. He hoped she never would have to. "She's very happy."

"She cry." Tali made a motion of dragging her finger down her cheek and said something in Hebrew. He shook his head slightly and she wrinkled her nose, frustrated he didn't understand her. She repeated it again and he just gave her a long look, the silent demand she speak English. She huffed. "She cry and Abba…" She made a kissing sound and giggled. Then she shrugged. "Ima, no cry."

"Well I think your Abba and your Ima have much to discuss. Eat your food and then perhaps we'll go on a walk, let them talk. Sound like a plan?"

"Will you go Seener?"

Go? Why would he go? "Trust me kid, I'm sticking around for awhile. Your Abba and Ima are kind of a mess. They're going to need me. Trust me."

She smiled. "Yay!"

He tapped her nose. "Now eat your food. Then we'll let Abba and Ima have some alone time." They had more than a few things to discuss and even their time alone earlier wasn't enough for them. He wondered what all was going to happen now. Whatever did, he wasn't going to go anywhere.

* * *

"Gosh Tali," Senior complained, sweeping up her toys again. She was as bad as Junior sometimes with how she could just leave things out when something distracted her. He wondered where she'd gone. He set one of the toys on the table and lifted up a piece of paper, his son's scribbled writing saying he'd taken Tali out for breakfast and to let Ziva sleep. He'd just gotten back from the market. Tali was going through a growth spurt and was eating everything in sight.

He set the paper down and tidied up a bit more. There was a slight scuffle and he turned, seeing Ziva coming around the corner. They hadn't had a chance to be alone the past few days. She was mostly sleeping. Tony told him she'd been injured and was recovering. Plus, he said, she'd been without her daughter and that had basically crippled her emotionally. She was still recovering. "Sweetheart," he said, reaching for her. "How are you feeling?"

"Much better," Ziva sighed, smiling up at him. She wrapped her arms back around his chest, her head going to his shoulder. She sighed. "I missed you."

"I missed you too. You have no idea." He kissed the top of her head. Tali and her had the same dark curls. He squeezed her lightly. "You want some breakfast? Tony and Tali went out to give you some time to sleep, but I'm sure I can rustle up something."

"No, I'm actually not hungry." She looked out the windows, which were open. It was a beautiful morning. She gestured to the balcony. Her dark eyes were rather intense. "Do you want to go for a walk? Tali and I always went for a walk, right after we woke up and…and it's kind of…" She shrugged, waving her hands a bit and laughing. "In me now that this is a normal thing to do."

"Habit, huh?" Senior turned off the coffee pot and gestured to the door. "After you."

Ziva ducked her head slightly and grabbed a jacket, shrugging into it as they walked out of the apartment. She walked carefully down the stairs, barely wincing now as she put weight onto her right foot, which she'd been favoring. She stepped outside, pausing and inhaling deeply, her eyes closing. "I love Paris," she said, exhaling hard. "It's so beautiful."

"I did forget how much I liked this city." He began to walk beside her, letting her set the pace. She shoved her hands into the pockets of her jacket, looking down at the ground while she walked. He glanced sideways. "Ziva. I want to tell you something…"

"Thank you." He paused. Thank you? He blinked, slightly confused. What was she thanking him for? The confusion in his furrowed brow faded when she spoke again, explaining herself. Her voice was soft and to the point. The way he remembered Ziva speaking. "Tony never spoke about you and when you came back, I saw how confused he was. How disappointed…I'm not talking about it to bring back bad memories, but he loved you very much, even if he tried not to show it. I think Tony believed if he showed it, he'd lose you again. It would be too much. So he pretended." She continued. "When I decided on my plan, to finalize this all for once and for all, I was worried Tony would be…" she trailed off and then frowned, whispering. "Well I was worried he would be angry. He was never one for commitment."

"He would have committed with you," Senior said, not meaning it as a means of digging in a knife, but just stating the fact. He frowned. "I may not have known a lot about my son, Ziva, but I do know about love and the way he looked at you was love."

"Unfortunately we both let it get too far without saying anything and then it was too late. I was staying in Israel and he was going back to D.C. He wasn't going to leave NCIS for me and I wasn't going to be the reason for that." Ziva stared ahead, quiet. They walked in silence a couple of blocks until she blurted out. "I almost told him, after I found out I was pregnant."

Senior glanced down at her. "Why didn't you? If I can ask."

She shrugged. "I talked to Abby. She said he was…he was changing. He was becoming a different person. Mature. I thought…well I thought it would ruin that, honestly. It was a misjudgment on my part and you won't hear me say that often." She took another deep breath. "I was worried he'd be upset. Here I was…coming back into his life and screwing it up. So I kept it to myself and…I know it's meaningless now but I was planning on telling him….things just…"

"They got in the way."

"I kept talking to Abby. She didn't know, I would beg her not to talk to him. She listened. The time I was going to do it. I had…I had bought the tickets and we were going to leave and…she said he was seeing someone." She hurried through her words. "And I knew then I had gone too far and I should just stay quiet. For now. Then I was going to do it again, when she said they broke up…I was going to call him and come to D.C. Set the play."

He frowned a bit. "Set the stage."

"Whatever." Ziva dragged her fingers through some branches of a tree they passed under, as they began to meander through the park nearby. "Then everything changed and…and I had to get her to him. I wanted more time, I should have…I couldn't write a letter, you see. Couldn't make it seem like it was planned. It had to be sudden and…and made to seem like I had to choice in the matter. People had to believe I was gone." She smiled. "And when I wondered what was going on, how was he reacting and…and was Tali safe and happy, I just hoped that you would be there too. A grandfather for my little girl." She spoke again, this time a tone of sadness and longing in her voice. "My father spoke of grandchildren. I don't believe he…I think he really wanted them and…and maybe he thought it was too late for me. It would be something he'd never experience because of who I'd become."

"I don't think that Ziva," he said.

She smiled again, but it didn't meet her eyes, which were shining. "My father would have loved Tali very much. I think…I think he would have been a different man with her, but we'll never know, will we? Tali will never know him, but she will know you and I knew, above all else, when I wondered what Tony's reaction would be, it was yours I knew for sure." She blinked through tears. "Tony doesn't realize how lucky he is. I would…I wish so much to have time back with my father. We were angry when he died. We fought and I…and he was so upset. I thought coming back to Israel would make it better. Penance and…and giving up NCIS and my life in America. Starting over. Becoming a different person."

You poor girl, he thought, reaching to cup her face in his hands. He kissed the top of her head again, brushing away her tears. "You do not need to become anyone different, Ziva. Tony loves you just how you are and so do I. So does Tali. That's all that matters. They are all that matters."

Ziva began to sniff again and then cry, turning into him, clutching at his jacket. He rubbed her back soothingly. She was probably still so tired. He had no idea what was going through her mind. He just hugged her and reassured her that it would be fine. When she pulled away, she wiped at her eyes, laughing slightly. "You're a good listener."

"Well, honestly no one has ever told me that, but thank you." Senior studied her for a moment, shrugging. "What are you and Tony going to do now? Have you spoken?"

"Yes." She took a deep breath, composing herself. The tiny smile returned to her lips. "We are…we are going to be a family. It is going to take a lot of time. I…" She rubbed her hands quickly on her knees, whispering. "He is still very upset with me and he has every right to be. He isn't going to forgive me easily for keeping her from him. But I just want Tali to be with him. Wherever that may be."

Senior thought of what Orli told him. They would take care of things and keep watch. "There are people watching to make sure you can live your life in peace," he assured her. He shrugged. "That Orli seems like she'd take care of them singlehandedly for you."

The eyeroll he got from Ziva made him laugh and she laughed too. "Orli was…probably one of the people in the world I trusted the least and despised the most, but she came through many times. Somehow I learned to trust her and I think that I still can."

"And that Adam character?" He grew defensive. "I didn't like the look of him, Ziva."

The melodic laugh from her warmed his heart. "Adam is a friend, that's all he ever was, at the close of the day. I promise you."

"Well good, because I love you Ziva and I will help you deal with my son, and I'll probably always take your side in arguments, but so help me if Adam gets in the way…" he let the threat hang, even though he wasn't sure what it would be. He shrugged. "Well Tali likes him."

"Yes, she does, but he is definitely just uncle material." Ziva smiled again, wrapping her arm around him once more and resting her head against his shoulder. "I can cannot say it enough, I am so glad you are here too."

"I wouldn't have been anywhere else Ziva." He thought a little and then glanced down at her, wondering if he should bring it up. He decided what the hell. "You know…I saw Tali's passport. I saw how you gave her Tony's last name."

"Yes, she is a DiNozzo through and through." Ziva chuckled. "When she was born she was so quiet. I was not certain that that gene came through. Then she began to talk and…and just babble. I could not stop her. When she was a baby, she was so good. She nursed, she ate, and she did everything you wanted her to do when you wanted her to do it. Then one night I checked on her in her crib and she was sleeping the way he did." She gestured, with her arm kind of over her eyes and turned a bit on her side. "And she used to sit and just give you a look that was all his. It was her eyes. Every time I looked at her, I saw him. Her smile…she is such a happy child." She shrugged, whispering. "Certain things are genetic. Eye color, hair color…height, weight, this, that, but…some things I never would have thought. The way she slept and…and how she just looked at things the same way he did. It was like he was with me."

He reached for her hand, squeezing it hard. "I know…it must have been hard."

"I know you are probably angry with me," she said.

"Angry?"

"For not saying anything. Keeping her to myself and not telling him. Or you. I cannot explain…I…I thought it best to do this myself." She bit her lower lip. "And I probably will never forgive myself for not telling him, not after seeing them together. He loves her so much."

Senior took a deep breath. Tony would probably get angry with him for saying so, but he agreed with Ziva here. "We'll never know how he would have reacted, Ziva. I don't know what went on between the two of you, but I also know my son had a twin bed in his apartment for his entire adult life, what's more commitment-phobic than that? I know you were probably worried but as I said." He shrugged, holding his palms upward in a 'who knows' gesture. "No sense living in the past, it'll only hold you back there."

Ziva didn't look at him and he got the impression she heard him but it would take her some time to actually come to terms with it. He wouldn't say any more on the subject. He squeezed her hand comfortingly again and she whispered, a little lighter now. "You said you saw her passport."

Tony hadn't mentioned it at all. They were close now, living together, but ultimately there were some bridges they might never cross and some they still needed time before they did. Ziva had heard more from him on the subject of his late wife than his son had in years. "Her middle name." He stated it with only the slightest trepidation at opening that door. "You knew it."

The tiny smile pulled on her lips and she nodded, wiping at her eyes with her palm. She mouthed 'yeah.' Then she took a deep breath and smiled a bit wider. "My mother told me that we name their children after loved ones who have departed, hoping to bridge the two together, remembering the past and looking to the future, maybe the child might have traits from the ones lost. My little sister did not get a chance to live, I do not know if Tony told you but that is who Tali is named for. She was killed in a suicide bombing when she was only a teenager." She smiled soft and ran her thumb over her palm, tracing the lines in her hand. "She was such light. She sang opera and wanted to be on the stage. My father loved her so much, she was his little girl in more ways than I was. My brother and I were his warriors, but Tali was his angel."

"Ziva," he said. He didn't want to upset her by talking about her family, but she shook her head, stilling him and continued. He closed his mouth and listened. Maybe she just wanted someone to listen.

"I told myself if I ever was blessed with children I would name my daughter after my little sister, so she could be as adventurous and kind and…sweet, as my sister." Ziva raked her fingers through her hair again, the curls scattering every which way. It was shorter than he'd ever seen it. "Middle names…we have them, but they are not always used. I thought of my mother, but as much as my mother was strong, she was also weak. I loved her so much, I miss her so much, but I then thought…" She shrugged, breathing. "I thought maybe he would appreciate it when they met. I was going to tell him, it just…it got out of hand like I said."

"Well thank you. I know…" He leaned back in the bench and looked up at the bright sky. He closed his eyes briefly. "My wife would have…would have loved a granddaughter."

"Tony told me she was sick…had been for most of his childhood."

"Yes. She got sick when he was only three, but he only really knew when he was older. She loved movies. That's how we met." He had never asked Tony how he and Ziva had really met, the actual eyes-on moment. Maybe Ziva would tell him one day. Tali should hear it one day. "We met at the cinema. Double-feature. We were the only two there without dates and then ended up going back several more times together. She took Tony all the time, it was her way of escaping from her illness." This was the most he'd spoken of his beloved Elizabeth in years. It came tumbling out, Ziva listening with rapt attention. "She wanted a daughter, but Tony was all hers, more than I think he was even mine. Not in a bad way, but…he might take after me, but his mind is all her. She was so smart and she could go a mile a minute, thought after thought linking together. If Tali takes after her at all, well…" He chuckled. "She's going to be hell to deal with." He grinned. "And with you as her mother, she's going to be a force."

Ziva's cheeks pinked a bit in embarrassment. "I do not know if I want her taking after me," she mumbled.

"Oh I don't think so, I think she should certainly take after you." He reached to wrap his arm around her shoulders, tugging her towards him for a kiss on the top of her head. "You're a wonderful mother Ziva."

"It is not something I envisioned, although…I did want it."

"You're going to be okay."

"I do not know what to do though."

He looked down at her. "Have you talked to Junior?"

"We have not thought that far ahead yet," she murmured. She sat up and then leaned forward over her knees, playing with her hands again. "When I left the Army there was Mossad, when I left Mossad there was NCIS, and with NCIS…I did not have time to think of what to do because I was pregnant and having a baby and…Tali became my life." She ran her tongue over her teeth, whispering. "Tony and I will have to find something to do. Tali will not be little for so long and we will need a way to…to live and to support her."

"Do what you love Ziva. You have the whole world open to you right now." He got up from the bench and offered her his hand. She took it and got to her feet. "Second chances don't always happen, but when they do, take them for all they're worth. You even have a third chance."

Ziva nodded. "I know."

"Come on, let's get you breakfast, you're going to eat whether you want to or not."

She laughed. "Thanks Senior." She waited a moment and nudged her shoulder into his, her voice tentative. "Dad." It sounded foreign coming from her. She lifted her eyes to his, whispering. "That okay?"

"I always wanted a daughter," he said, hugging her again, squeezing her in a warm bear hug. "And from the moment I met you, you were the one I wanted as that daughter." He kept his arm around her shoulders as they walked back towards the apartment, pausing on the curb as they watched Tony and Tali walking towards them, both skipping to something they were speaking together in unison, garnering looks from passersby at the odd man and his little girl. "What do you think they are doing?" Senior wondered out loud. God only knew what was going on through his son's head in that moment. They looked like escapees from a mental institution.

Ziva's eyes narrowed on them and she shook her head. "I do not know. I guess I will have to get used to it."

They grew closer and he heard strains of "Yellow Brick Road." Tali had watched _Wizard of Oz_ the other day. Must explain it. "They're DiNozzos. Just let the imagination go."

Then both of them stopped and began to dance around in a strange way and he shook his head again. "What is that?" Ziva demanded, gesturing towards them. "That is certainly not _Wizard of Oz_."

He frowned, watching as Tali stuck her hands on her hips and pushed her knees together, laughing and spinning around. The lightbulb went off. "Oh it's the Time Warp, from _Rocky Horror Picture Show_."

"From what? That does not sound appropriate for Tali."

"Well of course it's not, but it's a good song." He waved, when Tony looked over in their direction. Tony froze and Tali kept spinning around, babbling around. He laughed, walking towards him. "What are you doing, son? Hello sweetheart." He greeted his granddaughter with a kiss on the nose.

"Nothing."

"Dancing? That is not dancing, now ballet is dancing, come _neshema,_ we will go inside and I will teach you," Ziva said, reaching her hands for Tali and began to dance with her, leading her back to the apartment.

Tony gave him a suspicious look, lifting his chin slightly and looking down his nose at him. "What are you guys doing running off together in the morning? You talking about me?"

"Of course son."

"Really?" That surprised him. "I was kidding."

He clapped his son on the back. He wouldn't betray Ziva's confidence. "I love you Junior, but this is a new era we are entering, one where I imagine you and Ziva will be together, once you figure things out and that's of course up to you, but if you don't seal the deal with her and marry her and raise that little girl together, I don't think we can be father and son. To that, Ziva is still working through things, so give her time and don't be too hard on her." He was alluding to the discussion about Tali's overall existence. He arched his eyebrows. "Comprende?"

Tony squinted. "What are you a don now? Of course." He walked slowly back towards the apartment, quiet. "I don't know what we're supposed to do now."

He held open the door, gesturing for Junior to head into the building. He chuckled. Leave it to Grandpa to have all the answers. "It's obvious son. You go be a family. That's what you do. Everything else will fall into place."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I did not intend this to be a long fic. I might extend it into another fic about Senior and Tali. This epilogue/ending went through several iterations. Just wasn't sure where to end it. Thank you for the positive feedback.**

* * *

"Seener."

Senior stopped outside of the doors leading to the bedroom they were about to enter, his hand holding onto his granddaughter's. He looked down at her. "Yes Tali?"

She seemed unsettled, shifting her weight from sandal to sandal. The little clips in the shape of skull and crossbones holding the ends of her braided pigtails clicked as she turned her head fast to look up at him. Her hand clutched tighter in his and he squeezed it reassuringly. "What if he doesn't like me?" she whispered.

They had been over this. She had an irrational fear people wouldn't like her and he didn't know where it came from. Tali was the sweetest, most loving child he'd ever met. Even if she was his only granddaughter. He knelt to her height, his hands on her shoulders. "Tali," he said, speaking very clearly so she could understand. "You do not have to worry about that. He's going to love you, like everyone else in the world loves you."

She didn't seem sure. "What if I'm not the best?" she whispered.

"You will be, I know it. Will you love him?"

"Yes."

"Will you help your Ima and Abba?"

"Yes."

"And," he said, holding his finger up and smiling. "Most importantly, they will all love you. We all will love you." He wondered if that was where her fear originated. That they might not want her anymore, now that there was another one. That could not be further from the truth. He kissed her forehead and then squeezed her hands again. "Now come on, they're waiting. Don't you want to see Ima?"

"Yes." This had her more excited. They'd been staying with The Aunts in Tel Aviv, only making the trip back to the house in Haifa once they got the word that she could visit. They were going to stay here from here on out, until they could travel again, and return to the rather commonplace suburb in Ohio where they'd relocated almost a year ago. No one would ever expect to find them there, which was the ideal nature of it.

He knocked lightly on the door. "You ready?" he asked, seeing her excitement return. She was holding tightly to Kelev and also a white blanket, which she had picked out herself at the store. He turned the doorknob and stepped into the room, which was awash with sunlight coming in through the open windows. A light breeze off the sea was filtering in and brushing the curtains back and forth lazily. "We're here," he said softly.

Tali curled around his knee, suddenly very shy. She smiled when Tony gave her a knowing look and then giggled. "Hi Abba."

"What are you doing? Get over here, come see." He spoke in Hebrew and she laughed, running towards him and took a flying leap up into his arms. Tali did as he had requested, giving him a hug and returning the sentiment in Hebrew. Tony held his finger up to his lips and she mimicked him, peeking over and down at the bed, where Ziva was sitting cross-legged, holding a bundle in her arms, looking exhausted, but utterly thrilled. Senior didn't think she had ever looked more beautiful, except in the moment captured in the photo sitting on the nightstand, of the two of them standing beneath the _chuppah_ , their joined hands lifted in triumph after Tony stomped on the glass.

He had already taken a look at his grandson that morning, while Tali played with McGee and Delilah, who had come out to Tel Aviv to celebrate their wedding anniversary and see everyone. They'd gone sightseeing while he took her for her first introductions with her baby brother. It needed to go carefully, since Tali had been excited about his arrival but had also displayed a streak of jealousy. Both Tony and Ziva blamed each other for that trait in her. "What do you think Tali?" he asked quietly, watching as Tony held her firmly around her waist, setting her close to Ziva so she could look down at her brother.

She wrinkled her nose and then touched her hand out, pausing before she got to him. Ziva murmured to her in Hebrew, watching her carefully as she touched her brother's little head. She waited a moment and then patted it, before leaning in and giving him a kiss. "He look like my doll," she said.

"He's your little brother," Ziva said, patting his back as he fussed. She shushed him, clicking her tongue and chuckling. "He's whiny. Like his Abba."

"Excuse me? I am not whiny. I'm just…" Tony squinted, trying to come up with a good explanation.

"You're whiny, son, just accept it," Senior said, walking around to the other side, patting his grandson's little arm. "He's already tall, think he's gonna' take after his daddy? Your jump shot wasn't half bad son."

"Good enough for varsity Big 10," Tony retorted. He glanced sideways at Tali, whispering. "You want to hold him? Only if you want kid."

Tali nodded eagerly. Tony lowered her carefully into his lap so she was no longer standing and then Ziva guided the baby into her arms, both of them holding him up as Tali wrapped her arms around him, holding him like a log. "Careful his head, _neshema_ ," Ziva said, smiling at her. "So what do you think? You're going to be a good big sister, yes?"

"Only if he's good little brother," Tali said. There was a definite warning in her voice. She looked up, narrowing her eyes at all of them. "No promises." She'd been quoting that ever since Gibbs said it the other day in how he wouldn't smack Abba on the head, which she found hilarious.

Ziva glared at Tony. "This is your daughter speaking, not mine."

"Um, your daughter is the one who threatened to karate chop me if I woke her up in the middle of the night." He paused and then dropped the other shoe. "Because she was snoring like a freight train."

"A train does not snore."

"Figure of speech, but you still can't figure those out."

They both glared at each other, until Tali giggled, and they laughed, breaking their gaze and beaming at her. "I love you," she cooed. She looked back at her brother, scowling again. "What's his name?"

I'm curious of that myself, he thought, looking at both of them. He knew that the baby wasn't officially named until the ceremony a few days or weeks after their birth. "Don't you have to wait?" he asked.

Ziva shrugged, her voice soft. "Not with family, but for everyone else I want to wait until the _bris_. That won't be for another few days."

Tony flinched. "Poor little guy. In front of everyone too."

"It's that not bad, Tony," Ziva said, patting the baby boy's back when he fussed again. She whispered, not looking up, lost in her thoughts. Tali seemed to recognize it and said nothing, but leaned her head on her mother's shoulder, gazing at her adoringly. "His name is Elijah Anthony Jethro DiNozzo." She looked up at him, smiling at his look. "For all the fathers we've had."

Oh…wow, he thought, looking back at the little boy, whose eyes had opened. He was peering up at his sister, who was giving him the stinkeye. Babies usually had blue eyes, but his were already clouding with dark flecks. He'd have his mother's eyes, but he already had Tony's face, he thought. He smiled and patted Ziva's shoulder. "You did good Ziva."

"Here you go, _Saba_ ," she said, using the Hebrew for 'grandfather.' She always referred to him as that, hoping Tali would pick it up, but she was insistent he was called Seener.

It had been a long time since he'd held a newborn, he thought, but he quickly remembered. He smiled down at his grandson, who was moving around a bit more, eyes darting to all of them in turn and taking it in. It was hard to believe Tali used to be this big, he thought, looking at his little granddaughter. She had stood up on her knees, trying to get another look at her brother. He smiled and looked down at Ziva, who was just smiling. "You going to call him Eli?" he asked.

She shook her head, whispering. "Elijah. My father was Eli. It's too big of a name for him and I don't want him saddled with that connection. Elijah is enough." She grinned. "Or we can call him Tony."

"Yes, but how will you tell the difference between them?" he teased.

"Well one cries."

"And screams."

"Yells."

"Whines."

Tali clapped her hands, laughing. "Abba! They're talking about you!"

Tony's mouth fell open and he gaped at them, shaking his head. "Where did this anti-Abbaness come from? I don't whine or cry or…" Tali reached over and pinched him and he yelped, craning his neck around to his arm. "Tali! That hurt! Look, you made a mark on my skin, that's…ow! It's residual pain now! It's practically throbbing! Geez!"

He smirked at his son. "See?"

"You're a baby Abba," Tali informed him. She whined a little, mimicking her father and wiggled her fingers, pouting and drawing out her words. "I wanna' see Elijahhhh."

Ziva could see a tantrum on the way and calmly gripped her wrist, speaking softly to her. Tali flopped onto the bed, scowling but was now silent again. He wanted to spend more time with Little Elijah, but it was clear Tali needed attention. It was probably very confusing for her, Ima and Abba's attention taken by this little guy. He kissed Elijah's head, passing him back to his mother. "He's going to be a bruiser. You did good work Ziva."

"Hey, I helped, he's a DiNozzo too."

"Yes, but I had to deal with him waking me up at all hours of the night and making me crazy and keeping me in labor for two days," Ziva said, glaring at her husband. She reached for Tali, kissing her on both cheeks, speaking in Hebrew. He had no idea what she was saying, but whatever magic words she said to Tali worked and the little girl nodded and gave her a hug. Tears glistened in Ziva's eyes and he smiled, dropping his hand to her shoulder, lightly patting at her back. She smiled up at him, squeezing his hand.

Elijah began to fuss, his lips pulling back over his gums as he began to cry short, gasping sobs that was a hallmark of a newborn. The sound bothered Tali, who kicked her feet out, slouching down against her mother and scowling at him. Tony saw it before Ziva and lifted her back up off the bed. "Okay Tali Bear, I think it's time you go back to hang with Grandpa."

"I wanna' hold him!"

Senior shook his head, taking her from his son. "Not right now sweetheart, it's dinner time for your brother. He's going to be busy and I think Ima is tired. Let's give her a kiss and then go see where your Gibbs is."

That made her happy and she smiled fondly. "My Gibbs."

"He's on his way," Tony said, quickly glancing at his phone. He brushed his hand over his daughter's hair, smiling around at her face. "You mad at me?"

"Yes," she grumbled.

"Aw, well it's cute. You look like your mom when you get mad. Just don't hit me, huh?" He kissed her head and smiled again. "You have fun with Grandpa and Gibbs, we can go to the beach later, you want that?"

"Okay," She mumbled, her head pushed into Senior's neck. She waved at Ziva and the baby. "Bye Ima! I love you and the baby!"

That did it and Senior knew it, already noticing the watery look in Ziva's eyes and her slightly pursed expression when she was trying hard not to show emotion. It was too much for her and she burst into tears, Tony pouncing on her to soothe her, while Tali began to cry too, wanting to go back. He carried her out of the room, shushing her and soothing her as they went downstairs and into the kitchen. "It's okay, she's going to be fine," he said, setting her down when they reached the back porch.

The door opened and he turned, seeing Gibbs coming in like he owned the place, holding a cup of coffee. "Tali, look who's here!"

Tali wiped at her eyes and then jumped, squealing. "My Gibbs!"

"Hey there Touchdown," Gibbs said, ruffling her hair as she went flying into his knees. Touchdown, Senior reminded himself, because of her initials. T.D. He reached into his pocket and removed a wooden figurine, passing it to her. "For your collection."

Tali squealed again and jumped in the air, running to set the small wooden camel he'd carved her on the table with her other wooden animals he'd made. "I almost have them all!" she said, excited and studying her collection. "It's Noah's Ark!"

"Tali's Ark," Senior corrected. He reached his hand out. "Gibbs."

"A.D.," Gibbs said, using his preferred name to differentiate between the two Tonys. "How's everyone doing?"

"Everyone's doing fine, Tali just came back from seeing her new baby brother," he smiled at his precocious little granddaughter, laughing at her scowl. She'd learn to love him eventually. "And she's not thrilled he's taking up Ima's time."

Gibbs smiled, nodding. "Ah. Of course."

"My Gibbs I want to go to the beach," Tali said, looking over at them. She grinned wide. "Seener you come too!"

"We'll go in a few minutes, okay Tali? Let's let your Gibbs go see the baby." Senior gestured towards the stairs, smiling. "They're upstairs, second door on the left."

Tali scowled again, wanting Gibbs all to herself, but she stayed silent even as he asked her if she wanted to come with him. She did nothing and just walked away, letting him go upstairs without another word. She went out onto the porch and flopped down on the slate flooring, holding her new carved animal and tossing it around in her hands. "I hate the baby," she blurted out, when he came to sit down beside her. "I want Ima."

"You don't want to share Ima," he corrected, sitting down beside her. He groaned, feeling his age in that moment. He shook his head and glanced over at her. "Your Seener is getting old, Tali Bear. Don't think I'll be crawling around on the floor too much longer. Maybe we should go back inside, have a seat on the couch, huh?"

"No." She curled up into herself, her arms wrapping around her knees. She stared out at nothing and then glanced to him, whispering. "Are you gonna' stay with us Seener?"

He touched his hand to the back of her head, wondering why she was concerned about that. "Of course kiddo," he said, his voice softening to match her thoughtful tone. She seemed genuinely upset. He knew she would have trouble with splitting her parents' affection, but this seemed excessive. "Why would you say that?"

"I dunno'. I don't want you to leave." She looked over at him, whispering. "I love you. You're my Seener." She flung her arm around his shoulders, hugging tight. "And I don't want you to go. Ever."

Oh, well then. He hugged her back, squeezing her tight. "I'm not going anywhere Tali Bear. You're my granddaughter." My only granddaughter. The re-do, he thought to himself. He didn't treat her like the second chance he never had with her father, but he definitely would never make the same mistakes. She would only know him as the reliable, non-screw-up grandfather. She rested her head in the crook of his neck, looking out at the water. "You said you wanted to go to the beach?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Well it looks like it might storm, so why don't we just go on a walk, would you like that? We can get seashells." He mostly didn't want to have to deal with cleaning her up. She would get covered in sand and dirt and traipse it through the house. Definitely not what they all needed right now.

She nodded and took his hand, leading him down the stairs behind the house and to the beach. She kicked off her sandals at the base of the stairs and took off running to the water, playing tag with it as she laughed and ran forward as the waves retracted and then took off away as they launched forward. He grinned, following after her. "Look at this one," she said, unearthing a small spiral shell. She smiled. "It's purple."

"Well you should keep it, let me hold it for you."

"I like this one too." She found another, a little clamshell, and set it in his hand. They spent the next hour walking back and forth down the beach, picking up shells, discussing the merits of having a sibling, and ultimately how come her Gibbs hadn't arrived yet.

He looked over to the stairs, chuckling. "Because he's here now. See?" Thank God. His feet were killing him from walking the length of Israel it felt like. Tali had energy to burn. He knew she was still very confused by what her role now was in her parents' lives. He moved aside on the stairs so she could get to Gibbs. It was time for Grandpa Gibbs to deal with her. He went back upstairs and set the shells on the table beside her wooden figurines. He set about getting dinner ready and sure enough, in Gibbs' uncanny way, he showed up with Tali right after he'd made her plate.

The rest of the evening progressed like they usually did. Tony came downstairs, saying Ziva and the baby were sleeping. He left with Tali for awhile, came back with her fast asleep. Gibbs said he had to go back to Tel Aviv for a work thing and would be back the following morning. He disappeared, leaving the house relatively silent. The door closed behind him and Tony took the moment to fall forward over the back of the couch, groaning into a pillow. "I am so tired. I have never been this tired. Not on stakeouts. Not when I was on that freaking aircraft carrier with planes landing on top of my head. Not even when Tali decided to annoy me with singing "It's a Small World" for 24 hours straight."

"That was a bad day," he commented, shuddering. He went over to the cabinet in the corner of the living room, opening it up and taking down a glass. "Here son, this should help you." He poured a couple fingers of bourbon and carried it back over. "Gibbs isn't here, so I'll channel him."

"Thanks Dad."

He came around the couch and took a seat in the chair beside it, leaning back and propping his feet on the coffee table. They both looked to the loveseat. Tali was asleep, Gibbs had set her down with her Kelev and a blanket that the Aunts had crocheted for her. A soft fluttering sound emanated from her throat. Once she rolled onto her back, it would magnify about twenty times, sounding like a freight train. He smiled, stealing a look at his son. Despite his obvious exhaustion, Tony seemed to be wide awake looking at his daughter. "She's getting big Junior," he said softly. "Her birthday is soon."

"I know," he mumbled, shaking his head and chuckling. "She's going to be seven. Damn. Feels like yesterday."

Yesterday, Senior thought, glancing at his hands. He smiled again at his son. "You ever think when you first laid eyes on her that it would be like this?"

"What? Married to her dead mother and learning how to deal with a newborn?" Tony chuckled, shaking his head. "No Dad, I really didn't think that far ahead." He sighed, staring up at the ceiling, whispering. "I just wanted to find Ziva. Don't know what I'd have done if…if the hunches didn't pay out."

You would have been fine. You would have done what needed to be done and cared for her. Another sad thought popped into his head. Better than I did. That's for sure. He forgot it, or tried to, since it never did happen. He sighed. "Well you don't need to wonder. They did. She's here, you both have Tali, and now Elijah." He leaned back farther in the chair, stretching further. Two grandchildren. That was a lot of DiNozzo in the house. He tapped his fingers on the armrest, seeing a play here. "You know, I know we haven't quite discussed what you may need with Elijah…I know that's a lot of people to be dealing with in the house, two kids and Ziva and you both and I would probably just be in the way but…."

Tony's eyes were closed, his hands folded on his stomach as he lay flat on his back on the couch. He interrupted, not missing a beat. "You can stay with us Dad."

"Really?" He lightened up. Not that he ever thought they'd actually kick him out, but you never knew with Junior. "Well great then!"

His son opened his eyes and stared up at the ceiling again. A very long, dramatic sigh escaped. "I never really did thank you, you know." Before he even had a chance to ask for what, Junior continued. "Because I don't know what I'd have done without you. I didn't think much about it until recently. Thinking about how it will be different now. I've never raised a baby before. Tali came along well beyond potty-training and sleepless nights…"

"There were a few sleepless nights," he said softly.

Tony snorted. "Yeah, because of me." He shook his head. "You kind of saved me Dad. Took care of her when I had to find Ziva and…and all that stuff. Kept me sane. Something I never thought I'd ever say about you. That's the truth."

Senior smiled and got to his feet. He walked around, keeping himself busy, picking up stray toys here and there that Tali had left out. Didn't want anyone, namely him, breaking a hip stepping on one of them. "Well son, it was the least I could do. I don't want to get all into it, but…" He paused, holding a few of Tali's stuffed animals in his arms as he thought about it. He'd thought grandchildren weren't going to happen because Tony was so set in his single ways. There wasn't pressure or any real need to have little DiNozzos running around. He chuckled. "I guess I didn't think we'd ever get this far. Didn't think you'd settle down and…and that I'd actually get a grandchild. The minute you walked in that door with her, my life upended as much as yours did. In a much better way I think. She was the sweetest little thing. Plus, you know, she was Ziva's and you know how much I love…."

When he turned around, after dropping some of the toys into the chest in the corner of the room, he smiled. His words had trailed off, watching Tony fast asleep. Well. Who knew how much he heard. Didn't matter. He knew. Or well, Senior hoped he knew. He walked over and dragged a quilt over Tony and flicked off the lights, leaving the two DiNozzos, both of them sleeping in the exact corpse-like position they tended to sleep in for some reason, but Tali snoring loudly, and headed back upstairs.

He poked his head into the master bedroom, finding Ziva sprawled on her back, snoring at the same volume as her daughter. He winced and reached over into the bassinet, lifting out Elijah. The newborn was wide awake, but not making a sound. Hard not to be awake given his mother's snoring, but unbelievable he wasn't crying. Senior carried him out of the room and took him into the nursery that was already made up for him when he got older, smiling down at the baby as he took a seat in the rocker by the window. The windows were open, the sound of the Mediterranean Sea filtering in with the breeze. Elijah looked up, blinking blue eyes that already had brown coloring around the irises. They'd be the same as his mother's in a few days. "Well kid, your sister and I had quite a few adventures. I know she's not partial to you yet, but give her time and we'll all three have a few too."

It was surreal to think that only a few years ago he was learning how to help parent a two-year old. Now there was a newborn in the mix. He leaned back in the chair and chuckled. "Well if you're not going to sleep like the rest of your family, I'll tell you a story. Let's see….well how about when I met your Ima? There was this Saudi prince…oh and your dad was there too and Grandpa Gibbs…." He continued to tell the story, smiling down at the newest grandchild. Yes, he thought. They'd all three have some adventures. And they'd make sure Ima and Abba weren't involved either.

 **THE END**


End file.
